After months of pandemic-related shutdown, cinema-going in Los Angeles is ramping back up, and films are once more being shown commercially at the Silent Movie Theater. And once more, operations resume with another change in branding: the space is now called “Brain Dead Studios,” following its brief run as Fairfax Cinema and, before that, Cinefamily.
“We are just leasing the space”
Kyle Ng is the public face of streetwear brand Brain Dead, which announced in October 2020 it was making its “new home” at 611 N. Fairfax Avenue. In an email sent to the Fairfax Cinema email list, Brain Dead explained: “The goal of the space is to increase the amount of cultural programming that Brain Dead saw lacking in their immediate surroundings of Los Angeles.”
“Trust me”
In his public and private comments, Ng has condemned what he called the “toxic environment” at Cinefamily. When pressed by a former Cinefamily staffer on how Brain Dead Studios will avoid similar problems, Ng appealed to the power of “diversity” (Ng is Chinese American) and the fact that “we are a[n] independent company, we are not dictated by a board.” [This seemingly makes Kyle Ng the only person in the world to diagnose Cinefamily’s problem as too much oversight. -Ed]
Presumably sensing the former staffer was unconvinced, Ng offered one final way that patrons might have confidence Brain Dead Studios will be a safe workplace: “Trust me,” he said.
Here at Cinefamily Accountability, we want to believe. We want to believe Brain Dead Studios is “just leasing the space.” We want to believe there are no hidden connections between Ng and the Harkhams. We want to believe Ng is a good guy who would do BLM fundraisers even absent the miles of press coverage. We want to believe that a healthy workplace can be created by good intentions alone.
But there are worrying signs. Rumors swirl about a longer history between Ng and the Harkham brothers. Ng’s public statement — that the Harkhams were “shocked” when the news broke of the Cinefamily scandal in August 2017 — contradicts the Harkhams’ own public statement that they had known of the Cinefamily crisis since at least early 2016. (Like the Harkhams, Brain Dead is also showing signs of tax irregularities!)
This website has repeatedly reached out to Ng and Brain Dead; both have thus far declined an invitation to speak.